The Onion A.V. Club | Alice Cooper Alice Cooper, the famed shockrocker talks about his legacy, thesecrets of shock, and his performance on The Muppet Show. http://www.theonionavclub.com/avclub3518/avfeature3518.html

Extractions: By Stephen Thompson Alice Cooper has received equal measures of credit and blame for influencing numerous shocking, over-the-top rock acts, from The Sex Pistols to White Zombie to Marilyn Manson. But what many of the 51-year-old's most popular contemporary descendents forget to emulate is Cooper's rebellious sense of fun, heard in such timeless rock 'n' roll moments as "School's Out," "I'm Eighteen," "Welcome To My Nightmare," and more. Perhaps the first to build truly over-the-top theatrics into his live showshis raucous sets feature blood and countless props, and generally end with a simulation of his own violent deathCooper has always built his act around catchy rock songs and a rare knack for showmanship. Of course, the cross-dressing, copious fake blood, and literal gallows humor raised some hackles in the '70s, and he's battled some form of controversy on and off ever since. Shortly after the release of an elaborate, 81-song, four-disc, five-hour career retrospective ( The Life And Crimes Of Alice Cooper ), the singer and showman spoke to